Indicators

The days of patiently waiting to know the results has, in my experience, been relegated to sports and games of chance.  In business, actual results are used to verify leading indicators and preliminary forecasts.  Decisions are often taken early in the process, well before the measurements are final.  Having used indicators for years in business, I can easily defend their value.  However, they are, at best, simply what they are – indications and hints and early warning flags of what might be.  They are not real.
 
In practice, there is a natural tendency to draw conclusions based on what we see.  The warnings of history are often ignored.  Miracle drug cures are embraced with abandoned, only to discover that the cure brings more harm than good.  In relationships, the process unfolds in a similar way.  It is only with time that one knows the true measure of a person’s soul.  It is the consistency found with extended patterns of caring that one knows the heart of compassion.  It is with the reality of an ongoing dialogue that one understands what it means to be walk with another.
 
There are those that appear to have all the answers.  “He had them all, from little children to old men, eating out of his hand.  They all thought he had supernatural powers, and called him ‘the Great Wizard.’” (Acts 8.10)  With time, the truth began to unfold.
 
I used to think that I could make every decision with ratios, analysis, and indicators.  As I look back, I see flawed decisions resting on arrogant pride.  Facts are illusive.  Indicators are often misleading.  I came to life with a bias that predetermined my focus.  I know the answers even as I began the experience. 
 
Life continues to correct my thinking.  It is in the process of connecting with Divinity that one discovers the beauty of the moment at hand.  In simply being in and with God, one experiences the fullness and wonder of the individuals in our lives.  God’s touch brings new indicators – assurance, peace, and a sense of recreation.